At first, of course we ordered raw oysters. There were 12 different kinds of oysters in their menu, but tonight we selected Island Creek, Moon Shoal and Wellfleet, all of which were harvested here in Massachusetts. They were amazingly good! They had no fishy smells, but very rich flavor and matched very well with saltiness of sea water inside the shells. I think these were better than those we had in New Orleans. My favorite among three was Island Creek.

Since we have been eating too much in the past few days, we opted for several appetizers and no entrees. This is the dish called "Oyster Gregory", grilled oysters with bacon, leek, Parmesan, etc. This was OK.

これは鱈の頬肉のフライ。鱈の身が脂がのっていてかなりいけます。

This is "crispy cod cheeks". The meat was very fatty and moist. I can give it a high score.

Oyster stew. We ordered one and requested to split it into the two cups. I guess because of this, the liquid was almost all absorbed to the bread inside. But the taste itself was very good - creamy and a little bit spicy. I will request no bread in the stew next time.

フライドポテトも注文。これだけでかなりおなか一杯になりました。

We also ordered fries. We were quite stuffed after eating all of these dishes.

The dessert was "cider donuts" which came with the caramel sauce and apple cider. Simple, but tasty. I think this restaurant is as good as Neptune Oyster in North End. But this one may be more convenient as it has much wider space and also accepts reservations. We'll definitely come back to this restaurant!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Tonight we visited Bergamont in Somerville for dinner. This restaurant opened in April (I guess) this year, and got great reviews. It is located near our house, and I wanted to eat here for a long time but never had a chance until now.

パンはあまりおいしくない...。

The bread was, well, not very good...

一応アミューズも出てきましたが、チキンをマヨネーズ（？）で和えたようなもので、アメリカによくあるチキンサンドイッチの中身と全く同じ味。

The chicken salad was served as amuse. This tasted exactly chicken sandwich without bread...

夫は地元の Pretty Things という所のビール、Baby Tree を注文。ラガーによく似た味だそうです。

My husband ordered the beer called Baby Tree from the local brewery, Pretty Things (in Somerville).

私は3コースの Prix Fixe メニューを注文。まず最初にリークとジャガイモのスープ。これはまあ普通の味。

I ordered the three-course Prix Fixe menu. The first course was leek and potato soup. It was nothing special.

夫はアラカルトで注文。前菜はハムやパテなどの盛り合わせ。これもまあ悪くはないのですがここよりもおいしいところは他にたくさんあると思います。

My husband ordered charcuterie as appetizer. It was not bad, but we have had better ones elsewhere.

私のメインは子豚のロースト。これは加熱しすぎでお肉がぱさついていました。う～ん、期待が大きかっただけにがっかり。

My main dish, roasted suckling pig. This was definitely overcooked and the meat was dry. I was very disappointed as my expectation was very high...

夫は鴨の胸肉をメインに選択。これは真ん中の部分はおいしかったのですが端っこはぱさぱさで塩辛く、均一の味ではなかったのでちょっと残念。

My husband's main, duck breast. The center part of the meat tasted good, but the meat at the edge was too dry and tasted too salty.

My husband ordered the pineapple cake. This was the best dish we had tonight. I didn't understand why this restaurant gets good reviews. I guess it was the off night? It may not be fair to judge any restaurant with just one visit, but we won't be back anytime soon...

After shopping, we went for lunch at "Wagamama" in the mall. This restaurant is originally from UK and serves so-called "ramen" and other "Japanese" dishes. But to me these are totally different from (not even close to) the "authentic" Japanese food.

My husband ordered a set menu that comes with "yakisoba" (Japanese grilled noodles), "gyoza" (Japanese grilled dumplings) and freshly squeezed juice. Gyoza didn't taste exactly same as Japanese ones. There were several choices for juice, and he chose the carrot juice, which I didn't like at all but he seemed to be happy with its taste.

But suddenly something got Poirot's nerve and he barked at Laifu (Poirot looked like Munch's famous painting "The Scream"). I didn't understand the reason for his barking, but I guess they have their own minds...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone is having a great holiday with families/friends. Since we do not have family to celebrate Thanksgiving together in the US, we generally either go traveling somewhere or are invited by one of our friends. This year, we got invited by our friends.

友人の家に到着すると、まず温かいワインを出して頂きました。甘くて、体も温まります。これを飲みながら七面鳥が焼きあがるまで、おしゃべり。

Upon arrival, we were served warm wine. It was sweet and good, and made us warm. Until the turkey in the oven became ready, we chatted drinking this great wine.

七面鳥が焼きあがりました！14ポンド（約6.3キロ）と、とても大きいですがそれでも例年（10キロ以上）よりは小さいそう。

The turkey is ready!! It weighed 14 lbs, which to us was very big but our friend told us that this was smaller than that they used to cook (22 lbs).

七面鳥の中には詰め物が。私は七面鳥自体はあまり好きではありませんが、この詰め物は大好き。

The stuffing in the turkey can be seen. I love stuffing although I do not like turkey meat too much.

あっという間にきれいに切り分けられました。

It was cut into pieces quickly.

そのほかにも感謝祭の典型的なお料理が並びます。これは七面鳥には欠かせないクランベリーソース。

In addition, various Thanksgiving dishes were served, of course including the cranberry sauce.

バターナットスクワッシュのロースト。

Roasted butternut squash.

芽キャベツなどの野菜。この他にもマッシュドポテトやきのこ入りのグレービーソース（このソースがとてもおいしかった！）、デザートなどなど。

Brussels sprouts and other vegetables. We also had stuffing, mushed potatoes, gravy sauce (with mushrooms, which was very good!) and desserts.

This turkey was very moist, tender and delicious, much better than that served at restaurants. I love home-made dishes. Nothing is better than enjoying good meals and spending some quality time with your family and friends!

About Me

Thank you for visiting my blog. I was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, and currently live in the Boston area with my husband from Taiwan and Poirot, the pug (male). We love to travel different places and eat good food of any kind (from street foods to Michelin 3 star restaurants). My articles are mostly written in Japanese, but I'll gradually add English version, as well.